Jeremiah 4
1 Nam laem let nahaeloe, Aw Israel, kai khaeah amlaem ah, tiah Angraeng mah thuih; panuet thok hmuennawk takhoe ving hanah na koeh nahaeloe, kai khae hoi angthui hmah.
Yahweh says, “You Israeli [people], come back to me! If you get rid of those detestable idols and do not turn away from me [again],
2 Nangmah doeh, Angraeng loe hing, tiah oepthohhaih, lokcaekhaih, toenghaih hoiah lokkamhaih sak han angaih; prae kaminawk doeh anih rang hoiah tahamhoihaih to paek ueloe, anih oephaih rang hoiah lensawkhaih to hnu o tih, tiah Angraeng mah thuih.
and if you declare, ‘Just as surely as Yahweh lives, what he says is true,’ and if you [start to] always say what is true and act justly/fairly and righteously, then the [people in the other] nations [of the world] will request that I bless them [as I have blessed you], and they will [all come and] honor/praise me.”
3 Judah hoi Israel kaminawk khaeah Angraeng mah hae tiah thuih; nangmacae ih long to atok oh, soekhring thungah antii to haeh o hmah.
This is what Yahweh says to the people of Jerusalem and [the other cities in] Judah: “[Prepare yourselves to receive my messages] like farmers plow up hard ground [in order that they can plant seed in it]. Just as farmers do not [waste good seed by] sowing seeds among thorny plants, [I do not want to waste my time telling you messages that you are not ready to receive].
4 Angraeng khaeah tangyat hin aat oh, nangcae Judah hoi Jerusalem kaminawk, nangcae ih palung tangyat hin to aat oh; to tih ai nahaeloe na sak o ih kasae hmuennawk pongah, palung ka phuihaih hmai baktiah tacawt ueloe, mi mah doeh paduek thai ai ah kangh moeng tih.
Purify your inner beings and your minds for me. If you do not do that, my being angry with you [MTY] because of [all] the sins that you have committed will be like a fire that will be impossible to extinguish.”
5 Judah prae thungah taphong oh loe, Jerusalem ah tha hoi hang oh; prae thung boih ah mongkah to ueng oh; maeto ah amhong oh, nawnto amkhueng oh loe, sipae kacak vangpuinawk thungah caeh o si, tiah thui pae oh.
“Declare this [DOU] to [all the people in] Jerusalem and [the rest of] Judea; blow the trumpets everywhere in the land [to warn the people]. Tell them that they should flee to the cities that have high walls around them.
6 Zion ah caeh han angmathaih kahni to payang oh, loih hanah cawn oh! Anghak o hmah! Kalen parai amrohaih hoi raihaih to aluek bang hoiah kang sin han.
Shout to the people of Jerusalem, ‘Run away [now]! Do not delay, because I am about to cause you to experience a terrible disaster [DOU] that will come from the north.
7 Kaipui loe a khaw thung hoiah tacawt boeh; prae kaminawk phraekung loe loklam ah angzoh li; anih loe na prae amrosak hanah a ohhaih ahmuen hoiah tacawt boeh; nangcae ih vangpuinawk loe kami om ai ah pong o sut tih boeh.
[An army] that has destroyed [many] nations will attack you [like] [MET] a lion that comes out of its den [to attack other animals]. [The soldiers of that army] have taken down their tents and they are ready to march toward your land. They will destroy your cities and leave them without any people still living in them.’
8 To pongah kazii to angzaeng oh, palungnat hoiah qah oh; kanung parai Angraeng palungphuihaih loe aicae khae hoi amlaem ai vop.
So, put on sackcloth/rough clothes and weep and beat your chests [to show that you are very sorry for what you have done], because Yahweh is still very angry with us.
9 To na niah loe siangpahrang hoi anih ih angraengnawk loe palungboeng o tih; qaimanawk dawnrai o ueloe, tahmaanawk doeh anghmang o sut tih, tiah Angraeng mah thuih.
Yahweh said that at the time [he punishes you], the King of Judah and [all his] officials will be very afraid. The priests and the prophets will be terrified.
10 To naah kai mah, Ah, Angraeng Sithaw, kaicae hinghaih nuiah sumsen to phak boeh, toe kamongah na om o tih hmang, tiah na thuih ih lok mah hae kami hoi Jerusalem kaminawk hae na thlaeng boeh, tiah ka naa.
Then I replied, “Yahweh [my] God, you completely deceived the people by telling them that there would be peace in Jerusalem, but now [our enemies] [PRS] are ready to slaughter us with their swords!”
11 To naah hae kami hoi Jerusalem kaminawk khaeah, Hmuensang ih takhi kabae loe praezaek bang hoi kai kami canunawk khaeah song tih, toe to takhi loe hawhsak han ih na ai, ciimsak han ih doeh na ai ni;
When that happens, [Yahweh] will say to the people of Jerusalem, [“A huge army will come to attack you]. They will not [be like a gentle breeze that] separates wheat from chaff. [They will be like] a very hot wind [that blows in] from the desert [MET].
12 Kai khae hoi thacak parai takhi to song tih, vaihi nihcae to lok ka caek han boeh.
[They will be like] [MET] a strong blast that I will send. Now I am declaring that I will punish/destroy you.”
13 Khenah, anih loe tamai baktiah angzo tih, anih ih hrang lakoknawk loe takhi kamhae baktiah om tih; anih ih hrang loe tahmu pongah doeh rang kue. Khosak a bing o boeh! Aicae loe amro boeh!
[Our enemies] are about to rush down on us; their chariots are like [SIM] whirlwinds. Their horses are faster than eagles. It will be terrible for us!
14 Aw Jerusalem, pahlong thai hanah, kasae poekhaih palungthin to pasae lai ah. Kasae poekhaihnawk to nasetto maw na thungah om vop tih?
[You people of] Jerusalem [APO], purify your hearts/inner beings, in order that Yahweh will rescue you. How long will you continue to think about [doing] evil things?
15 Dan prae hoiah lok to tacawt moe, Ephraim mae hoiah raihaih tamthang to taphong boeh.
From Dan [city in the far north] to the hills of Ephraim [a few miles/kilometers north of Jerusalem] messengers are proclaiming that disasters are coming.
16 Prae kaminawk boih khaeah thui oh; khenah, Jerusalem misa haih to thui oh; katoep kaminawk loe prae kangthla hoiah angzoh o moe, Judah vangpuinawk misatukhaih lok to paek o boeh.
Tell this to the [people in other] nations [but also] announce it in Jerusalem: [Yahweh says], “An army is coming to Jerusalem from far away; they will shout [a battle-cry] against the cities in Judah.
17 To prae mah Kai hae misa ah suek pongah, laikok toep kaminawk baktiah, nihcae mah Judah to takui o khoep boeh, tiah Angraeng mah thuih.
They will set up tents around Jerusalem like people set up temporary shelters [SIM] around a field [at harvest time]. That will happen because the people of Judah have rebelled against me.
18 Na caehhaih loklam hoi na sak ih hmuennawk pongah ni hae hmuennawk hae na nuiah phak; na zaehaih pongah ni kakhaa parai hae hmuen hae na palung thungah oh.
You will be punished very severely; it will [be as though a sword] has stabbed your inner beings. But you are causing those things to happen to you because of the evil things that you have done.”
19 Aw palung, palung! Palung thungah nat; kai ih palung loe tapok tom boeh pongah, kaom duem thai ai boeh; Aw ka hinghaih, misa pahruekhaih mongkah lok to na thaih boeh.
I am extremely anguished/sad; the pain in my inner being is very severe. My heart beats wildly. But I cannot remain silent because I have heard [our enemies] blowing their trumpets to announce that the battle [against Judah will start immediately].
20 Amro boeh, amro boeh, tiah hang o; prae boih amro boeh; kai ih kahni imnawk loe nawnetta thungah amro moe, imkhaan pakaahaih doeh akra ai ah amro boeh.
Disasters will occur one after another until the whole land is ruined. Suddenly [all] our tents will be destroyed; [even] the curtains [inside the tents] will be ripped apart.
21 Nasetto maw kahni payanghaih to ka khet moe, mongkah lok ka tahngaih han vop?
How long will this battle continue? How long will I continue to see the enemy battle flags and hear the sound of their trumpets being blown?
22 Kai ih kaminawk loe amthu o, kai panoek o ai; palungha ai nawktanawk ah oh o moe, panoekhaih tawn o ai; kahoih ai hmuen to sak panoek o moe, kahoih hmuen sakhaih to panoek o ai.
[Yahweh says], “My people are [very] foolish! They do not have a relationship with me. They are [like] [MET] stupid children who do not understand [anything]. They very cleverly do what is wrong, but they do not know how to do what is good.”
23 Long to ka khet naah, krang om ai, tidoeh om ai; vannawk doeh aanghaih om ai.
[God gave me a vision in which] I saw that the earth was barren and without form. I looked at the sky, and there was no light there.
24 Ka dan naah, maenawk loe tasoeh o moe, maesomnawk doeh ahnuk ahma angthuih o.
I looked at the mountains and hills, and they shook and moved from side to side.
25 Ka dan naah kami to om ai; van ih tavaanawk doeh azawk o boih boeh.
I looked and saw that there were no [more] people, and all the birds had flown away.
26 Ka dan naah thingthai qumpo hoi kakoi ahmuen loe praezaek ah angcoeng ving moe, vangpuinawk doeh Angraeng hmaa ah amro o boih boeh, kanung parai anih palungphuihaih mah to tiah amrosak boeh.
I looked and saw that the fields that previously were fertile had become a desert. The cities were all ruined; they had all been destroyed by Yahweh because he was extremely angry.
27 Angraeng mah hae tiah thuih; prae boih pong sut tih, toe amro boih mak ai.
This is what Yahweh is saying: “The entire land [of Judah] will be ruined, but I will not destroy it completely.
28 To pongah long loe palungsae tih; vannawk ranui ah khoving tih; ka thuih ih lok baktih toengah, dawnpakhuem mak ai, sak ka timhaih baktih toengah, ka phrae let mak ai.
I will do to my people what I said that I would do, and I will not change my mind. So [when that happens, it will be as though] the earth will mourn and the sky will become very dark.”
29 Hrang angthueng kaminawk hoi kalii avak kaminawk ih atuen pongah, vangpui boih cawn o tih; lungsong thungah akun o ueloe, lungsong nuiah daw o tih; vangpui to caeh o taak boih tih, mi doeh athung ah om o mak ai.
[When the people hear] the sound of the [enemy] army marching, [they will be terrified as] they flee from their cities. Some of them will find places to hide in the bushes, and others will run toward the mountains/hills [to escape being killed by their enemies]. All the cities [in Judah] will be abandoned; not one person will remain in them.
30 Nam ro naah timaw na sak han? Khukbuen kamling hoi nam thoek moe, sui hoi nam thoep cadoeh, mikhmai ah tasi angnok moe, nam thoep khing cadoeh, na kranghoihaih loe azom pui ni; na tlangainawk mah patoek ueloe, na hinghaih lak hanah pakrong o tih.
So you who will surely be destroyed, [why are you doing the things that you are doing now]? Why are you wearing beautiful clothes and jewelry? Why are you putting paint around your eyes? Doing those things will not help you, because the people [in other countries that you think] love you [actually] despise you, and they will try to kill you.
31 Nongpata mah nawk tapen naah qah ih lok, ca tapen tangsuek nathuem ih kana ahamhaih lok baktih toengah, Zion canu hanghaih lok to ka thaih; anih loe ban to payangh moe, Kai loe khosak bing boeh! Kami hum kaminawk pongah, tha ka zok sut boeh, tiah a hangh.
[It is as though] I already hear [the people in Jerusalem] crying very loudly, like [SIM] a woman cries when she is giving birth to her first child; she gasps for breath and pleads for someone to help her. [It is as though Jerusalem] is crying, “Something terrible is happening to me! They are about to murder me!”
